Toronto's city solid waste workers are an essential part of Toronto's waste diversion programs.

Waste workers have an insider's perspective on waste - they deal with waste everyday, and they see the mistakes people make and the impact that new recycling programs have on the volume of waste being picked up.

We asked a few of Toronto's solid waste workers for their thoughts on how we can build a Waste Free Toronto.

Though many people toss coffee cups in the Blue Bin, the sad truth is that take out coffee cups are just not recyclable in Toronto's blue bins. That means far too many cups are sent to Toronto's landfill each year.

So what can Toronto do?

First - we can all carry a refillable mug, or have our coffee at the cafe. But, when it comes to coffee on the run, the good news is that the City of Toronto is studying the problem and doing some pilot tests this summer.

Talking about waste as a community is one of the most important parts of the Waste Free Challenge - when we work together, our impact can be huge!

TEA has partnered with CASSA - the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians - to promote the Waste Free Challenge in the South Asian community. This week, the CapaCITY Creators team launched a Waste Free Guide to Hosting a Dinner Party with a waste free picnic in Scarborough (photo).

Food waste is the largest single waste type in most households, and it's also a major source of waste at work.

As part of taking the Waste Free Challenge, we at TEA decided to tackle food waste in our office since we have no green bin pick up. Jocelyn from WASTENOT Worm Farms helped us set up an indoor worm composter with hundreds of red worms!

TEA’s Waste Free challenge is a project of the Toronto Environmental Alliance. The project is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario. The challenge is sponsored by CUPE Local 416, the union representing Toronto City workers who collect, sort, recycle and compost Toronto's residential waste.